- A Chinese woman pleaded guilty to involvement in a cryptocurrency fraud after £5.5 billion (about $7.39 billion) in Bitcoin was seized by U.K. police during a home raid in London.
- The seizure of 61,000 Bitcoin is reportedly the largest such confiscation globally, linked to a scheme that defrauded over 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017.
- The fraud targeted older investors, promising daily dividends and guaranteed profits before converting their funds into Bitcoin.
- Co-conspirator Jian Wen received a prison sentence and financial penalties for her role in laundering funds, including cryptocurrency movements and property purchases.
- Separately, INTERPOL coordinated arrests of 260 suspects across 14 African countries in an operation against romance scams and sextortion, resulting in $2.8 million in losses and the disruption of 81 cybercrime networks.
Law enforcement in the U.K. has charged a Chinese national, identified as Zhimin Qian (also known as Yadi Zhang), who admitted guilt in connection with a fraudulent cryptocurrency operation. The Metropolitan Police confiscated £5.5 billion (approximately $7.39 billion) worth of Bitcoin from her London residence. Zhang is scheduled for sentencing after pleading guilty at Southwark Crown Court.
The amount seized included 61,000 Bitcoin and is noted by the Metropolitan Police as the largest single cryptocurrency confiscation worldwide. Authorities launched their investigation in 2018 following a tip-off about the transfer of criminal assets. Zhang is accused of running a large-scale fraud scheme in China from 2014 to 2017, which defrauded more than 128,000 individuals.
Victims, primarily aged 50 to 75, were misled into investing money under false claims of daily dividends and guaranteed returns, with their money later converted into Bitcoin. Zhang left China with fake documents and arrived in the U.K., where she attempted to launder the proceeds by purchasing property with the help of an accomplice, Jian Wen. According to the police, Wen was jailed for six years and eight months last year for moving cryptocurrency wallets and money laundering activities. She was ordered earlier this year to repay over $4.1 million or face extended prison time.
In a separate development, INTERPOL announced that 260 suspects were arrested across 14 African nations during a coordinated effort called Operation Contender 3.0 from July 28 to August 11, 2025. The operation targeted criminals exploiting social media and other digital platforms to carry out romance scams—where false online relationships are used to extract money—and sextortion, involving blackmail using explicit images or videos.
The countries involved included Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The scams caused financial losses of $2.8 million and affected 1,463 victims. Law enforcement seized electronic devices, SIM cards, USB drives, and forged documents, dismantling 81 cybercrime infrastructures across Africa.
According to private Cybersecurity firm Group-IB, which assisted INTERPOL alongside Trend Micro, intelligence was provided on how criminals targeted victims and the payment methods they used. Cyril Gout, acting executive director of Police Services at INTERPOL, stated, “Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams.” The increase in online platforms has expanded opportunities for these criminal networks to operate.
References to original reports and further reading include the Sky News article, Metropolitan Police statement, Group-IB press release, and INTERPOL announcement.
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